Creating Fairness Together

Overview

Unit Title: Rights, Needs, and Justice
Lesson Number: 8 of 10
Lesson Title: Creating a Fair Society
Total Duration: 60 minutes
Year Group: Year 6
Class Size: 30 pupils
Subject: Religious Education (RE)
Curriculum Area: Key Stage 2 – Religious Education
Focus Area: Social Justice, Human Rights, and Ethical Values
Attainment Target Addressed:

• Learn about the impact of religion and belief on individuals, communities, and societies (AT1 – Learning about Religion)
• Reflect upon, express, and justify their own beliefs, values, and commitments (AT2 – Learning from Religion)

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Learning Intentions

By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:

• Understand how basic rights and needs contribute to a fair and just society.
• Identify similarities across religious and non-religious worldviews regarding fairness and justice.
• Collaboratively design a visual representation of a fair society.
• Articulate their thoughts about fairness, justice, and equality using reasoned arguments.

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Success Criteria

Pupils can:

• Describe at least three key rights or needs essential in a fair society.
• Explain how ideas of fairness appear in at least one religion or worldview.
• Work effectively in a group to design and present a “Fair Society” poster.
• Ask and respond to challenging questions about justice and equality.

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Key Vocabulary

• Justice
• Equality
• Rights
• Needs
• Society
• Fairness
• Empathy
• Responsibility

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Resources Needed

• A2 sheets of poster paper (1 per group)
• Coloured pens, pencils, card, glue sticks, scissors
• Printed “Fair Society Prompt Cards” (included below)
• Rights and Needs Reference Sheet (summarising articles from UNICEF’s Rights of the Child and values from major religions)
• Teacher whiteboard
• Optional: Music for focused group work (e.g. instrumental soundtrack)

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Pre-Lesson Preparation

• Arrange desks into pods/group tables (5-6 students per group).
• “Fair Society Prompt Cards” and Reference Sheets placed in the centre of each table.
• Label each table: "Justice Junction", "Equality Edge", "Kindness Corner", etc. to inspire creativity.

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Lesson Breakdown

⏱ 0–10 mins – Starter: What is Fair?

Activity: Think–Pair–Share

1. Write the question on the board: “If you could make one rule to make the world fairer, what would it be?”
2. Pupils take one minute to think silently.
3. Pair up and share their answers (2 mins).
4. Take a few responses and scribe key words onto the board (e.g. kindness, sharing, equal pay, fairness).

Teacher Prompt:

“Different religions and worldviews have special teachings about how we should treat others. Today, we’re going to imagine a society that uses those ideas to be as fair as possible.”

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⏱ 10–20 mins – Exploring Faith-Based Views on Fairness

Mini Input with visuals (on board or flipchart):

Introduce 3 perspectives from various worldviews:

1. Christianity – “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)
2. Islam – “Stand out firmly for justice.” (Qur’an 4:135)
3. Humanism – People are responsible for creating a fair world based on reason and compassion.

Discuss briefly:

• What do these quotes focus on?
• What do all 3 focus on (despite different origins)?

Emphasise shared values of empathy, justice, and responsibility.

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⏱ 20–45 mins – Main Activity: Create a Fair Society Poster

Instructions to Pupils:

• In your group, imagine your own society — a town, country, or community that is the fairest possible place to live.
• Use the Prompt Cards and Reference Sheet to help you decide:
  • What rights will everyone have?
  • What needs must be met?
  • How will decisions be made fairly?
  • How will people treat each other?

Groups will then:

• Design a poster that illustrates their society.
• Include at least 5 “Fairness Foundations” – rules/values/rights guiding the society.
• Use images, symbols, and keywords.

Teacher Role:

• Circulate and support discussion. Use prompting questions:
  • “Where do you see this right in the real world?”
  • “Can you think of a religion or belief that would support that?”
  • “How would people in your society know they’re being treated fairly?”

Differentiation:

• LA Pupils (Less Able): Provide sentence starters and a suggested list of values from the Reference Sheet.
• HA Pupils (More Able): Challenge them with questions about how systems of justice would work (e.g. who resolves disagreements?).

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⏱ 45–55 mins – Group Gallery Walk & Reflection

1. All posters displayed on tables.
2. Groups move around in pairs, leaving sticky notes of positive feedback or questions (2 per poster).
3. As a class, reflect on similarities in the posters:
   • What values showed up most?
   • What surprised them?
   • Were there ideas inspired by real life or religious teachings?

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⏱ 55–60 mins – Plenary: Class Reflection Circle

Sit in a circle. Use a soft toy or object to pass as a talking piece.

Prompt questions:

• “What’s one thing you’ve learned about fairness today?”
• “Would you change your own community to be more like your fair society?”
• “What does this show us about the values people of faith or belief might live by?”

Optionally, record key words from pupil responses on the board to reflect shared understandings.

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Assessment for Learning

Formative:

• Observation of group discussions
• Listening to pupil reflections during plenary
• Review of poster content and evidence of understanding

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Extension Ideas

• Write a letter to the Headteacher proposing one change in school to promote fairness.
• Create a "Fairness Charter" for the class or school based on today's ideas.
• Link with Citizenship or PSHE and explore children’s rights through UNICEF resources.

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Teacher Reflection Notes

Consider the following after the session:

• Did pupils make clear connections between beliefs and fairness?
• Were all pupils engaged in the group task?
• Did pupils’ posters show both creativity and thoughtful reasoning?
• What would support deeper critical thinking in the final two lessons?

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Additional Guidance

This lesson ties into the UK SACRE syllabus recommendations that pupils explore ethical dimensions of religion and evaluate how shared human values influence our choices and society. It also supports British Values—particularly Democracy and Rule of Law—by giving pupils a voice in designing a just society and reflecting on roles and responsibilities.

This is more than just RE. It’s RE at its most relevant.